Michael Vaughan and Mr Green – a New Twist on Branded Partnerships

Published on 1st June 2017 by Adam

Michael Vaughan is Mr Green’s newly acquired ‘Sports Gent’, who will be acting as more than simply a famous face for the brand as he will be lending his expertise in cricket and other sports to help boost the sportsbook subsidiary. While we haven’t seen that many active partnerships of this sort in the world of online gambling, we’ve seen quite a few tv personalities and other famous faces act as ambassadors for online gambling sites. There always seems to be something about how online gambling sites select and secure their brand ambassadors that convey a type of character or presence that is in line with that of the gambling site. In this article, after looking at the Mr Green – Vaughan partnership, we’ll look at some other brands that have done this in the past.

Mr Green Signs Up Michael Vaughan as Sports Gent

There is something about an online casino like Mr Green signing up a former captain of the English cricket team and superstar of the sport like Michael Vaughan that feels like a suitable match. The two have a suavity and confidence about them that is supported by their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields, which are plenty.

Michael Vaughan’s knowledge goes beyond just cricket as he has a trained eye for different sports. His portfolio also includes formerly taking up the role of leading commentator for BBC, Sky, and Channel 5 sports. And with quite a few sports events coming up over the next few months, a long-term partnership between the two means that Vaughan will be contributing to Mr Green’s sportsbook exposure to players via written and recorded content. Some of the events Vaughan will be sharing his knowledge about are the British Lions, Ashes, and then later on, the Premier League.

Vaughan commented on Mr Green, saying that there is a certain smartness about the way they do things and that they feel a little different to many other platforms in the business. He finds these attributes attractive, especially since he’s very much into his own sport, and Mr Green comes across as a most adequate springboard for him to share tips and offers.

Other Online Casinos and Famous Personalities

While the partnership between Mr Green and Michael Vaughan is meant to be more than just placing a famous face as the poster boy of the brand, what with his active contribution to the brand’s sportsbook, Mr Green is not the first of the line of casinos who signs up famous personalities. Online casinos such as 7Red and BGO had already walked down that road.

7Red, with its golden emblem set to deep red and black colours, has always succeeded in conveying a gritty yet lush and stylish feel, one that reflects the more serious nuances of Las Vegas. In keeping with this image, 7Red had previously signed up Mike Tyson, former multiple boxing title-holder, hall of fame inductee, and all-time boxing legend, also previously known as ‘the bad boy’ of boxing. Tyson was a perfect match for the campaign being held at the time. His presence and character, accentuated even further by a 7Red TV commercial, made him the ambassador par excellence for 7Red.

BGO took things in a very different direction. The face of BGO is ‘The Boss’, still played till this day by actor Verne Troyer. He has appeared multiple times side-by-side with other famous personalities such as Paris Hilton and Dan Bilzerian, who happen to have a casino chapter each in their own respective life histories. Paris Hilton is notorious for having been a trigger-happy gambler at the tables. On the other hand, Dan Bilzerian was previously known as a pro poker player. The overall ambience the presence and acting of Verne Troyer and the others sets is one that exudes a feel for the lush life in a comical and self-parodising fashion.

Wrapping Branded Partnerships Up

Using famous TV personalities, superstars, and the lot is nothing new in the world of advertising. However, what Mr Green is doing this time is a double-bill bind, in that Michael Vaughan will serve as both an ambassador and a seasoned consultant. We’ll see if in the future other online gambling sites will follow suit and build upon such synergic initiatives.